Journalist killed, two injured in Pakistan suicide bombing

New
York, April 16, 2013--At least one journalist was killed and two were injured in
a suicide bomb attack during a political rally today in Pakistan's northwestern
provincial capital of Peshawar, according to news reports.

Aslam
Durrani, news editor of the Daily
Pakistan, was killed, according to a staff member at the Lahore offices of
the paper. News accounts reported that more than 20
others were killed in the attack, which occurred in Yakatoot, a densely packed
neighborhood in Peshawar during a political rally for the Awami National Party,
according to Agence France-Presse.

The
reports said that
Ehtesham Khan, a correspondent for Express TV, and Azhar Ali Shah, a reporter for
Daily Pakistan, had been injured in
the blast. Both have sought treatment for unspecified wounds at a local hospital,
reports said.

The
explosion occurred just after the arrival of senior ANP leaders at the scene, The
Associated Press reported. Senior police official Shafqat Malik told AFP that the attack
was a suicide bombing.

The
militant group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the
attack, according to local reports.
The group's spokesman, Ihsanullah Ihsan, told local media that the target of
the attack was Haroon Bilour, a lawyer who is running for the seat that his
father, Bashir Bilour, won five times in Peshawar, and who was assassinated
last year by the Taliban, the reports said.

"Journalists
in Pakistan operate in a terrain filled with danger," said CPJ Asia Program
Coordinator Bob Dietz. "With elections drawing closer, these risks are
heightened. We call on authorities to ensure the perpetrators of this terrible
attack are brought to justice, and we urge journalists in the field and the
news organizations behind them to exercise great caution."

Political
violence has increased in Pakistan in the run-up to May 11 elections. The date will
mark the first time a civilian government has handed over power after
completing a full term in office.

For
more data and analysis on Pakistan, visit CPJ's Attacks
on the Press.